Amid criticisms, DOH says COVID-19 reporting ‘transparent from the very start’

MANILA, Philippines — Amid questions and doubts on the integrity of its COVID-19 figures, the Department of Health (DOH) on Monday said it has been “transparent” in reporting coronavirus infections “from the very start” of the outbreak.

Last week, the DOH changed its reporting on the number of COVID-19 cases after it recorded the highest single-day increase of 539.

In its new scheme, the DOH classified the new cases as “fresh” or those test results released to the patient within three days from reporting time, and “late” or those results were released four days ago or beyond.

Of the 539 new cases reported on Thursday, for instance, the DOH said only 109 were “fresh” cases  and the rest were “late.”

The new reporting system, however, drew criticisms from lawmakers with Senator Panfilo Lacson saying that the change in DOH reporting showed that health officials had not been forthright in disclosing the real data to the public.

But Health Undersecretary Maria Rosario Vergeire stood by the agency’s reporting, noting that it has been transparent since the beginning of the outbreak.

“Simula’t sapul po, ang Kagawaran ng Kalusugan ay naging transparent from the very start with our data, nakikita ninyo po lahat po ng aming ginagawa,” Vergeire said in a televised press briefing in Malacañang.

“We have an open system, iyong data-drop, kung saan maaaring tingnan ng mga kababayan natin ang aming mga datos,” she added.

The DOH also said that the increase in COVID-19 cases is due to the department’s aggressive validation process.

As of Monday, there are 18,086 confirmed COVID-19 cases nationwide, including 3,909 recoveries and 957 deaths.